Ice skate sharpener



Feb. 20, 1951 M. LEFTERUK ICE SKATE SHARPENER Filed May 27, 1949 IN VEN TOR.

Patented Feb. 20, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims.

The present invention relates to skate sharpeners in general and more particularly to a skate sharpener of relatively light weight adapted to be held in the hand. lhe device is sufficiently small that it may conveniently be carried in the pocket of the skater.

It is a well-known fact that properly sharpened skates add to the enjoyment of skating and to the speed which can be attained. The passage of hardened steel blades over ice dulls blades made of even the best grades of steel and resharpening is frequently necessary. Additionally, nicks and fiat spots occur on the blades through inadvertence and from contact with foreign elements.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved skate sharpener small in size and adapted to be held in the hand while moved in operative relationship to the skate blade in the sharpening operation and which, despite its small size and weight, is capable of sharpening a skate to a perfection comparable to that obtained in a professional skate shop.

Another object of the invention is to provide a skate sharpener which is so simple in its construction as to enable an unskilled person to opcrate it expertly by complying with very simple instructions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a skate sharpener which is adjustable to handle blades of different thicknesses.

A still further object of the invention is to provide an unsupported, hand-held blade sharpener adapted selectively to incorporate different honing elements in order that the blade may be ground flat or hollow as desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide an extremely simple light-weight hand-carried blade sharpener so constructed and designed that by a simple adjustment burrs formed upon the skate edges may be removed.

These and other more specific objects will appear upon reading the following specification and claims and upon considering in connection therewith the attached drawing to which they relate.

Referring now to the drawing in which a preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated:

Figure l is a top plan view of the device constructed in accordance with the invention, the honing element additionally being shown in dotted lines in position to remove the burrs from the side of a skate blade illustrated in phantom lines;

Figure 2 is an end view of the unit showing the thumb-receiving knurled recess;

Figure 3 is a transverse section upon the line 3--3 of Figure 1 and illustrates the user-adjusta ble spring-=pressed detent provided to accommodate skate blades of different thicknesses;

Figure l is an elevational view of the end opposite that shown in Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a bottom view of the unit;

Figure 6 is a view in perspective of the honing element used in the unit when it is desired to grind the skate blade fiat; and

Figure 7 is a view in perspective of a similar honing element which is convex and which is substituted for the honing element of Figure 6 when it is desired to hollow grind the skate blade.

In the drawing the skate sharpener constructed in accordance with the present invention is seen to comprise a simple unitary body l which, in a preferred form, is made of light, strong metal such as aluminum. An open topped slot 2 extends across body i and seats an elongated honing element 3 which may be a conventional hone suitable for sharpening steel skate blades. .A set screw 4 extends from one end of the body I and seats threadedly in a bore 5 with its inner end in contact with the side of honing element 3 to retain that element fixedly at the bottom of slot 2.

A pair of blade-guiding rollers 6 partially overlie the slot 2, being mounted for rotation upon headed pins 1 suitably seated in body I. Each roller 6 is positioned within its own open sided recess or seat 8 in body I at one side of the central transverse slot 2. The rollers 6 are so positioned as to act as guides for a skate blade being advanced along the honing element and have sufiicient axial extent as to provide aligning to prevent the tilting of a blade forced "thereagainst.

A blade B being sharpened, see Figure 3, is pressed against the guide rollers 6 by means of a spring-pressed ball detent including an exteriorly threaded casing ill from the end of which is pressed a ball H by means of an interior coil spring 52. Detent body it! is adapted to be screwed into or out of a threaded bore I13 and has its outer end slotted at M to provide means by which the operator can make an adjustment by means of a screw driver or even a thin coin.

The ends of body I upon the opposite sides of transverse slot 2 are concaved andknurled, as is clearly'illustrated in the drawing. The body is roughly frusto-conical and the enlarged knurled end, indicated by the reference character It, is adapted to seat the thumb of the user. The opposite end, bearing the reference character I7, is adapted to receive, for example, the forefinger. The peripheral rim around the recessed ends of the body aids in preventing the displace ment of the holding fingers.

Under certain circumstances it is desirable to grind the skate blade flat, and when such is the case a flat honin element 3, as illustrated in Figure 6, is positioned in slot 2 and retained there by the clamping action of set screw 3. Under other circumstances, however, it may be desirable that the skate be hollow ground, and in such cases the element 3 is removed by loosening the set screw 2 and the element #9 of Figure 7, which has a convex surface on one side, is substituted therefor, and the device is ready for hollow grinding.

In the use of the skate sharpener constructed in accordance with the present invention, the skate is held in one hand and the sharpener in the other. For example, the skate may be held in the left hand and the sharpener held by the thumb and forefinger of the right hand. If the skate blade, indicated by the reference character B, is of usual thickness, ball it of the springpressed detent will force the blade against the sides of the rollers 6 which sides are perpendicular to the top surface of the honing element 3. If then the sharpener is moved lengthwise of the blade with the blade edge in contact with the adjacent surface of the honing element 3, in the manner illustrated in Figure 3, element 3 will perform its sharpening function. In the event the blade B is thicker or less thick than the con ventional blade the user need only adjust the detent inwardly or outwardly by rotating the detent body It] by a force applied at the slot M at the end thereof. The operation is the same in the event that the hollow grinding element is is positioned in the unit rather than the element 3.

When the blade has been sufliciently ground or honed burrs may be present along the edges and to remove them the set screw t is loosened sligh ly and the honing element shifted laterally from the full line to the dotted line position of Figure 1. If then the skate blade is positioned as in the phantom showing of Figure l and the side of the blade moved across the honing element the burrs will be removed.

While the particular device herein shown and described in detail is fully capable of attaining the objects and providing the advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that it is merely illustrative of the presently preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended to the details of construction or design herein shown other than as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A skate sharpener comprising a rigid body, a honing element carried by said body, guide means upon one side of said honing element having sufficient extent in the direction of said element as to determine the angularity of a skate blade forced thereagainst, a spring-pressed detent carried by said body and positioned as to force a skate blade against said guide means; and finger-receiving seats on said body adapted to receive and seat the thumb and one finger and through which a force may be exerted to move said sharpener relative to a skate blade.

2. A skate sharpener comprising a rigid body formed with a transverse slot, a honing element positioned in said slot, guide means overlying said slot to determine the angularity of a skate blade forced thereagainst with respect to said honing element, a spring-pressed ball detent partially overlying said honing element and positioned as to force a skate blade against said guide means, means being provided to adjust said springpressed detent toward and from said guide means,

4 and recessed finger-receiving knurled seats on said body upon the opposite sides of said slot to function as force-receiving surfaces by which said sharpener may be moved over the edge of a skate blade.

3. A skate blade sharpener comprising a rigid metallic body having a transverse slot, a honing element positioned in said slot, means removably retaining said honing element in place, a pair of rollers spaced along said slot having elongated surfaces perpendicular to the top surface of said honing element, said rollers functioning as guides to determine the angular relationship of a skate blade forced thereagainst with respect to said element, a spring-pressed detent positioned upon the opposite side of said honing element from said rollers and extended partially over said element in position to exert a force upon one side of a skate blade as to hold the opposite side thereof against said rollers, and means to adjust said spring-pressed detent toward or from said rollers.

4. A skate blade sharpener comprising a rigid metallic body having a transverse slot, a hcning element positioned in said slot, means removably retaining said honing element in place, a pair of rollers spaced along said slot having elongated surfaces perpendicular to the top surface'of said honing element, said rollers functioning as guides to determine the angular relationship of a skate blade forced thereagainst with respect to said element, a spring-pressed detent positioned upon the opposite side of said honing element from said rollers and extended partially over said ele ment in position to exert a force upon one side of a skate blade as to hold the opposite side thereof against said rollers, means to adjust said spring-pressed detent toward or from said rollers, and knurled recessed finger-receiving areas at the ends of said body upon opposite sides of said slot.

5. A skate blade sharpener comprising a rigid metallic body having a transverse slot, a honing element positioned in said slot, means removably retaining said honing element in place, a pair of rollers spaced along said slot having elongated surfaces perpendicular to the top surface of said honing element, said rollers functioning as guides to determine the angular relationship of a skate lade forced thereagainst with respect to said element, a spring-pressed detent positioned upon the opposite side of said honing element from said rollers and extended partially over said element in position to exert a force upon one side of a skate blade as to hold th opposite side thereof against said rollers, means to adjust said spring-pressed detent toward or from said rollers, and knurled recessed finger-receiving areas at the ends of said body upon opposite sides of said slot, said honing element being adjustably positioned in said slot and adapted in one position to extend from the end of said slot as to function as a burr-removing means.

MANOLIE LEFTERUK.

REFERENCES ()ITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 522,994 Lynch July 17, I894 1,335,813 Bergman Apr. 6, 1920 1,717,304 Bayet June 11, 1929 1,818,870 Rice Aug. 11, 1931 2,054,495 Corkum Sept. 15, 1936 

